


A Small Break in a Big World.

by umbreno



Series: RCU Dream SMP / 'A Small Break in a Big World' Extended Universe [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, No Romance, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Relationships, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27526225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umbreno/pseuds/umbreno
Summary: He ran.He ran because he had no other choice.He ran because he was hurt.He ran because he was scared.And suddenly, he realized as he was still running, he was no longer in the SMP....And eventually, as the person he still can't quite recognize picks him up in their arms, the darkness takes him.Maybe he'll be okay.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: RCU Dream SMP / 'A Small Break in a Big World' Extended Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2135781
Comments: 55
Kudos: 593





	1. Chapter 1

He ran.

He ran because he had no other choice.  
He ran because he was hurt.  
He ran because he was scared.

And suddenly, he realized as he was still running, he was no longer in the SMP.

Was he safe?  
Would his past find him here?  
Would Tommy ever forgive him? He hopes so.

Suddenly, he collided into someone.

He hopes he can trust them, he thinks as his vision is blurring.

 _“Are you okay?”_ The stranger asks, and their voice sounds familiar, but he can't think of where he's heard it before.

The voice feels comforting.

 _“Help me.”_ He cries. A gentle plea.

And eventually, as the person he still can't quite recognize picks him up in their arms, the darkness takes him.

Maybe he'll be okay.

* * *

When Dream wakes up, he’s in a bed, and he doesn’t know where he is, groaning as he sits up. “Oh, are you awake?” It’s the stranger from before,. and now Dream can get a good look at him. He’s rather tall- not taller than Dream, but tall none the less, and he has blonde hair and blue eyes. A green and white bucket hat is sat on top of his head, and he’s wearing a kimono.

He looks _so_ familiar, but Dream still can’t figure out where he knows him from. “I don’t blame you for not recognizing me, we’ve never really properly interacted before.” The man says. “How did you-” Dream starts. “You were squinting at me.” The man responds with a laugh, causing Dream to realize he doesnt have his mask on anymore.

Dream must look as worried as he feels, because the man quickly stops laughing. “I wasn’t laughing at your face or anything, don’t worry!” He says with a gentle smile. “I’m Phil by the way, you may know me as Philza. I’m Wilbur, Techno, and Tommy’s father.” He explains finally. So that’s why Dream thought he knew him.

“And you’re Dream, correct?” The man- Phil, asks, and Dream nods. “Yeah.. Yeah that’s me.” He responds quickly. “You okay? You were injured when you bumped into me, and you seemed rather shaken up too.” Phil asks. “I left in a bit of a panic..” Dream admits, wincing at how uncharacteristic of him that is. “..so when the mobs came I couldn’t exactly make a clean exit.” 

Phil frowns at that, “Well, I brought you to my home and patched you up, so how do you feel now?” He asks. “Uh.. I do feel better, thank you.” Dream says with a small smile, and a relieved expression crosses Phil’s face. “That’s good. I’m not sure if you realized when you came here, but this is a hardcore world.” Phil explains.

“Ah.. I didn’t even notice.” Dream admits sheepishly, running his hand through his hair. “You weren’t exactly in the best state physically or otherwise when I found you, I’m not surprised you didn’t notice.” Phil responds. “I’m glad I found you.” He adds.

Phil was gonna continue, but he pauses when he sees that Dream is eyeing his mask on the counter beside him. “You don’t have to hide yourself, you know.” Phil says. “It’s just me here, after all. I’m not gonna make fun of you.” Dream doesn’t verbally respond, simply humming and putting the mask on, but moving it slightly so it’s not completely covering his face- but is hiding his eyes.

“You really like that mask, huh?” Phil says. “Any particular reason you like wearing it so much?” He asks. “..Makes it harder for people to get a read on me. Safer that way.” Dream responds. “..Safer?” Phil asks, worry thick in his tone. “That’s what happens when you’re constantly fighting.” Dream answers.

The silence that follows is rather loud. 

“..I won’t ask why you ran away, if you’re not ready to talk about it. But you’re welcome to stay here with me for the time being.” Phil states, breaking the silence. “Can I?” Dream asks, trying to not sound too desperate.

Phil frowns briefly at Dream’s reaction, but he quickly replaces it with a warm smile. “Of course you can. It’d be nice to have someone to talk to for a change.” Phil responds. “Are you really sure it’s okay? I can always leave or-” “Dream.” Phil says, cutting Dream’s rambling off. “It’s okay. I promise.” 

“You ready to get up and walk around?” Phil asks, wanting to make sure Dream is okay- both physically and mentally, before they did anything. He could tell there was a lot on Dream’s mind, and he was more than willing to work with the younger and ease the tension that was weighing him down. 

“Yeah.. yeah I think so.” Dream says. “We have a lot of ground to cover if you want the full tour, so if you don’t wanna do it all today, just say so.” Phil responds, and Dream gets out of the bed but pauses as he sees Phil’s wings unfurl, staring in awe.

Without thinking, Dream reaches out and runs his hands over Phil’s wings, feeling the individual feathers. “You like them?” Phil asks with a chuckle, and Dream’s face goes red and he quickly pulls his hand away. “I’m sorry!” He says. 

“It’s fine. I imagine they feel nice?” Phil responds with a smile. “Yeah..” Dream nods. “You can continue petting them if you want.” Phil says, and Dream smiles at that, quickly going back to petting Phil’s wings.

“I should probably make us food before we head out, yeah?” Phil says after a few minutes and Dream nods. “Any preference?” He calls over his shoulder as he heads to the kitchen. “Not really.” Dream admits with a small shrug. “Pancakes it is then.” Phil hums, and then he’s off to start cooking.

He calls Dream back over when he finishes. “Feel free to take as many stacks as you want.” Phil states with a smile. “A- As many as I want?” Dream repeats, more-so to himself than to Phil, but takes a couple stacks none the less.

Dream is slow to start eating at first, it feels like it’s been ages since he’s last had-or could afford to have, a proper meal. His stomach seems to catch on though, and he starts eating a lot quicker. “I was starting to worry I gave you too much to start out.” Phil states in relief. So Dream was able to stomach actual food, thank goodness.

Dream finished his first stack of pancakes relatively quickly, a wide grin visible from what part of his face wasn’t covered by the mask. “I haven’t had an actual meal like this in ages!” He admits rather excitedly, clapping his hands together. Phil can’t help but worry, though- the young man was barely an adult and he hadn’t had a proper meal in some time?

“We uh, we had to ration food alot- back home.” Dream explains sheepishly, adding the last part rather quickly. “I see.. Well, as long as you’re here rationing food won’t be necessary, you’re welcome to eat as much as you please.” Phil states in response, and Dream flashes him a smile before getting to work on his second stack of pancakes.

Phil can’t help but smile fondly at Dream, he barely knows this young man shrouded in mystery, but he’s already prepared to take him under his wing- figuratively and literally, and teach him all that he can, and hopefully help get the young man back on his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i really really like this idea, but it's probably gonna be a on again off again thing when it comes to me updating this fic, because uh.. im not to good at writing things without a full plot in mind? but i really wanted to share this concept with the world!


	2. Chapter 2

Once they both finished eating, and Dream changed back into his old clothes (he wasn’t in Pogtopia, so he figured he didn’t need to wear it.), it was time for the tour. “So, Dream. What do you want to see first?” Phil asks. “This is probably silly, but.. can I see the rest of the house? So I know where everything is?” Dream asks, and Phil smiles and nods. “Of course!” 

“Well, you’ve seen the kitchen and the dining room already.” Phil starts, gesturing to the rooms in question. “Whose bedroom was I in?” Dream asks. “Oh! I put you in Techno’s room.” Phil explains with a smile, gesturing for him to follow, and bringing Dream with him upstairs to a hallway with a few doors at the end.

“There’s Wil’s room.” Phil starts, gesturing at the room closest to the staircase. “That’s Tommy’s next to it on the right- although he and Tubbo tend to share when they’re both here.” He continues, then gestures to a room on the opposite side. “That’s Techno’s room.” He explains, then gestures to the room at the end of the hall. “And that’s my room.” He finishes.

Dream smiles from under the mask. “Nice cozy set up you’ve got here.” He notes, looking around. “Does- Did Tommy keep you guys up?” He asks. “He did when I first adopted him, but eventually he started to settle down- atleast when it was time for bed.” Phil responds with a laugh. “Was always hard to keep him quiet when Tubbo stayed over, though.” 

The chatter continued as Phil showed him all the bedrooms, and then they headed downstairs to start the outside part of the tour, the first thing Dream noticed being the several rows of crops out front, a nether wart farm beside it. “Woah..” Dream states. “Can never be too prepared in a hardcore world.” Phil explains with a knowing smile.

Phil takes him around the side, showing him the small barn where he keeps his animals, then the pool of water behind his house. And, Dream had noticed, there was an almost missable layer of glass at the bottom of the water that revealed a chest room. “I’ll show you how to get there later.” Phil says when he notices Dream staring.

Phil spreads out his wings. “You might wanna get on my back for this one. It’s quicker that way.” Dream pauses. “I don’t mind walking-” He starts, but Phil laughs. “Trust me, for one of our later stops, walking won’t be an option.” He explains. “..Alright.” Dream says with a nervous grin, and Phil takes to the skies, Dream on his back. 

Phil points over at a glass dome in the near distance. “That’s where I keep my bees.” He explains, then gestures to a separate area connected to the dome. “And that’s where I put them when I need them to go into hives in order to easily move them.” He adds. 

Dream looks around them in awe. “Everything you have here is so thought out! I would’ve never thought to have things as organized as you do.” He notes. “Well, I’m mostly on my own here, aside from my sons who are always coming and going.” Phil responds with a chuckle, and Dream goes quiet again.

When Dream stops talking, Phil takes that as a sign he should keep moving, and he shows him around a few more minor builds. “..That’s basically it, when it comes to the overworld, anyway.” Phil states as they return to his house.

“..There’s more elsewhere?” Dream asks. “Yep! What I’m setting up in the nether is a bit more of a work in progress, but the end realm, well..” Phil responds, chuckling softly. “It has to be seen to be believed- since the shortcut to the fortress is in the nether, we’ll get to see both.” He explains. “Which one would you like to see first?” He asks.

“..I’m rather interested in this nether thing you’ve mentioned.” Dream admits. “Even if it’s not finished.” He adds. “Alrighty then, let’s go!” Phil says with a grin, and the two pop into the nether, where Phil carefully leads the way down a corridor before taking off into flight to show Dream their next destination. 

Dream’s eyes widened from behind his mask as he looked out at the nether void Phil had brought them to, several tiny floating islands were spread out in a ring around a large white quartz fortress in the center. “I call it the Quartress.” Phil states with a small grin, and he hears Dream snort to hide back a laugh. 

Phil lands in an open area of the island supporting the ‘Quartress’. “I want to add a garden.” He explains. “I need to get bushes and build a swing, or something-” He adds. “Philza, this is _incredible._ I’ve never seen anything like this!” Dream states, audibly impressed, Phil raises an eyebrow at the use of his full name, but smiles, leading him inside.

Phil gestures to the floor, made of white stained glass, and Dream looks down to see a two-tone environment, one side the blue warped forest, the other the red of the rest of the nether. “My nether-arium.” He explains with a smile. “You have nice names.” Dream states with a smirk. 

Dream crouches down to look at a strider that was chilling in a small lava pool. “How’d you get it in there?” He asks. “Very carefully.” Phil laughs, leading him around to another glass dome of bees. “I got these guys here even more carefully.” Dream stares at the bees in shock. “You are a man of surprises, Philza- and I say that as a compliment!” He says.

“Why thank you- although, this concludes our tour of the nether void, I don’t really have anything else here, so let’s head back and find the portal to our next destination.” Phil states, and the two exit the nether void and reach the second portal, coming out into the stronghold. 

“I haven’t been to one of these in a while..” Dream admits looking around. Phil smiles, and gestures to the portal. “After you?” He asks. “It’s in the End, you said?” Dream asks back. “Sure is. You ready?” Phil asks. “Yeah.” Dream responds with a grin, hopping into the portal, and Phil following behind not long after.

When Phil comes out the other side, Dream is frozen in place, looking around quickly. “How- what-” He stammers quickly, starting several sentences he doesn’t finish, spinning around to face Phil, shock evident on his face even without his eyes visible. “How did you _do_ this????”

“Welcome to Endlantis, Dream.” Phil says warmly, and Dream smiles brightly, clapping excitedly. “This is awesome!” He shouts as he stares through the glass in awe, and Phil smiles seeing how excited he is. “There’s a ton of conduits around, so we can go swim around.” He explains, leading him out the door into the water.

Dream looked around excitedly, unable to keep his attention focused on any one thing. “Philza, this is incredible!” Dream says for what is probably the fifth time that evening. “Well, I’m glad you think so!” Phil responds with a grin.

“Why’s there a hole in the glass?” Dream asks, jerking his thumb in the direction of the gap. “I was wondering if you’d notice, it was a while ago but I actually had to fight off a couple of dragons that came near here and tried to destroy everything.” Phil explains. “Dragon _s?”_ Dream asks, accentuating the ‘s’. “It was only two, and not at the same time, but yeah.” Phil responds. 

The two head above the water to stare down at it from up high, and Dream grins from ear to ear. “Have you enjoyed your tour?” Phil asks with a warm smile. “Yes, absolutely.” Dream responds eagerly, and the two then make the trek back home. While the trip back is rather quiet, Phil considers it a success for the time being. since Dream didn’t hold back his excitement as much. 

Phil has big hopes for the future- both his own and Dream’s.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks or so had passed since Dream got shown around what Phil had created in his hardcore world, and he’d mostly settled in. Phil had insisted Dream didn’t need to do much, and was free to just chill and do as he pleases, but something about the situation bothered Dream, and he felt like he needed to be productive.

So, he started going out on mini travels during the day, going out into the untouched land Phil had left in the hopes he could find something cool or useful. Dream didn’t really find too much at first, although sometimes he’d see natural areas he thought looked cool.

Then came the day Dream found something he would consider more cool than some naturally formed area of land, regardless of what most people would probably think.

* * *

Dream walked carefully through the forest, it was starting to get dark out by now and he hadn’t found much of interest, but he’d messaged Phil over comms that he’d be back as soon as possible. Twigs and leaves cracked under his boots, startling any nearby animals that hadn’t already left to seek shelter.

He imagines he must be pretty scary to come across, green eyes glowing in the darkness- even through his mask. He hears the distant rustling of spiders, and a couple _voops_ of endermen teleporting about, which meant that more mobs were about and he’d have to prepare to defend himself soon.

An arrow whizzes by his head.

 _Time to get to work._ He thinks, pulling out his axe and taking out the skeleton that shot at him. He turns around to face the backup- approaching hordes of zombies and more skeletons, as if silently challenging them to try and come after him when he was at the top of his game.

Dream tears through the hordes of the undead with ease, offering the passing endermen a small nod of acknowledgement, knowingly avoiding their gaze. They didn’t like to be stared at any more than he did- and they were still distant allies, plus Dream had nothing to gain by going against them in that current moment.

He continued his way through the forest, making sure to not disturb the endermen nearby as he quietly took out mobs. Slight commotion was heard off in the distance, and a few of the mobs were veering in that direction. 

And, well, his curiosity got the better of him.

 _I probably should gone back ho- to Philza’s house._ He thinks, but something was telling him to investigate- So he starts making his way over, staying quiet and crossing through the trees- as to not distract the mobs he was following and lose his lead.

He was almost certain he was making the walk back to Phil’s place harder on himself by doing this, but he’d already mentally agreed to check out whatever this was, and he was gonna see it through to the end, damn it! 

Dream looked through the darkness for what was getting the mobs’ attention. _There has to be something that these mobs have noticed that’s caused them to head over here._ He thinks. _There wouldn’t be multiple of them specifically gathered here otherwise._

As he followed them, he noticed that creepers were starting to run the opposite direction from the other mobs, and that they’d stopped moving. So he looks closer and he notices what appears to be a small cat hiding in the bushes that the mobs had gathered around. 

So he starts clearing out the mobs, waiting until it’s safe to try and get the cat out, and once they’re all gone, he turns back to the bush the cat was hiding in. He crouches down to get a better look, and the cat appears to be a tortoiseshell mix. _Most likely a girl cat then._

“Pspsps.. C’mere pretty girl, it’s okay, nothing’s gonna hurt you.” Dream calls out softly, holding out his arms. “The mobs are gone, it’s just me.” The cat slowly comes out from the bushes, and runs to him. “Hey, baby..” Dream says with a smile, gently petting her head, and he carefully looks her over to make sure the mobs didn’t actually hurt her and that she was only frightened.

He’s relieved to find that she’s unharmed. “You poor thing, I wonder why they all zoned in on you like that.” He wonders, and the cat rubs up against him and purrs. “You really like me, huh?” Dream says with a small laugh, scratching behind her ears.

“I don’t think Philza would mind if I take you back with me- would you like to?” Dream asks her, and when she meows at him in response he takes that as a yes, scooping her up in his arms and holding her carefully. “I think I’ll name you Patches.” He notes and then starts making his way back. 

* * *

Patches, surprisingly, as Dream thought cats didn’t like to be held, has stayed rather comfortably in his arms, and he would’ve thought for sure she would’ve jumped out by now and just walked alongside him. 

He sees Phil’s house though, so he’ll be able to let her down soon anyway, and walks up to the door and knocks it with his boot, because he’s still holding Patches and admittedly doesn’t want to put her on the ground yet if she doesn’t want to be, and Phil opens the door quickly enough that Dream worries Phil was specifically waiting by the door for him.

Phil looking Dream over does serve to confirm that thought, but then Phil sees Patches. Dream grins from under the mask, eager to switch the topic before it can even start. “I was on my way back when I found her in the woods, buncha mobs had her cornered in a bush, and I couldn’t just leave her there.” Dream explains. “I can keep her, right?” He adds, with a hopeful tone. 

“..A cat? I mean, sure, I don’t have any problem with it. She certainly seems to like you.” Phil responds, petting Patches’ head and smiling as she purrs in response. “Between you and now a cat I’m sure this place won’t be quite as lonely.” He notes.

Dream kneels down and lets Patches leave his arms so she can explore and adjust to Phil’s house, looking to Phil after he stands up. “..Philza, I was going out because I wanted to be productive and didn’t want to sit around and do nothing, but if you’d like me to join you all you have to do is ask.” Dream tells him, sticking his hands in his pockets.

And Phil looks relatively shocked, like it just hit him. “..I guess I’m so used to being on my own that I didn’t even think about it.” Phil admits. “I think I understand where you’re coming from.” Dream responds, offering him the tiniest of truly sincere smiles.

Dream yawns after that, stretching his arms. “You’ve had a long day, you should probably get some rest.” Phil chuckles. “Yeah, probably..” Dream notes, starting to walk to the stairs so he can go to bed, but he turns and waves to Phil. “‘Night, Philza.” He calls out with a tired smile. “Goodnight, Dream.” Phil calls back, and Dream disappears up the stairs.

 _Dream truly does care about others, he just doesn’t always show it in the most obvious ways._ Phil thinks, humming in thought at the similarities, and begins to make his way up the stairs to his own bedroom, hoping that he doesn’t wake up to Patches having trashed his house.

Although, considering how happy she made Dream, Phil doesn’t think he’ll mind too much if she does.


	4. Chapter 4

Phil and Dream had been cleaning the house (both because of Patches and simply because not everything had been tended to since the boys left), not too much of interest had been uncovered- until they’d gotten upstairs.

Dream paused, looking at the guitar leaning against the wall, picking it up carefully and examining it. “You’re welcome to try and learn if you’d like.” Phil says from behind him. “It’s okay?” Dream asks. “The only one here to mind is me, and I’m fine with it.” Phil states. 

Dream grins. “I think it’ll be fun! ‘ll give me something to do when I’m not out exploring or with you- but that offer still stands, by the way.” He notes, and Phil nods. “I don’t have any plans to go out and get anything as of now, but I’ll let you know when I do.” He responds.

* * *

Admittedly, Dream wasn’t sure what he expected, but learning a guitar was turning out to be way harder than he thought.

After looking around further he’d found sheet music that seemed to belong to Wilbur, so he figured that was a good place to start. Some of the songs seemed.. quite sad, although all of them seemed bittersweet at the happiest.

They all stood out to him in ways he wasn’t sure he could explain, but one especially stood out compared to the others, so that was the one he chose to try and learn first. 

_I wonder why all of the songs Wilbur has are like this.._ He thinks as he tries to play it, he’s definitely made a little progress, but not nearly as much as he’d like. He puts the guitar down for a second, stretching his hands out a bit and running them through his hair. “This is so annoying..” He grumbles to himself.

 _Mrip?_ He looks over to the source of the sound, and it seems the noise brought Patches over, and she happily makes his way over to where he’s seated, silently demanding his attention, and Dream was happy to stop for the moment in order to pet her and shower her in affection. 

_It was like she knew I needed a distraction._ He thinks as he continues to pet her, and Patches meows, getting up from his lap and standing in the doorway waiting for him. Dream gives a fond smile as he rolls his eyes, leaving the guitar be for the time being to go play with her.

* * *

Dream poked at his plate with an awkward frown. “Was there something wrong with the food?” Phil asks, and Dream shakes his head with a smile. “Oh, no, it’s not that! Your cooking is great!” Dream clarifies, before frowning again. “It’s just.. I’ve been struggling with the guitar.” He explains.

“No one is perfect when they start out, Dream.” Phil says with a small smile, hoping to comfort him, but Dream simply frowns and looks away. “I should be, though.. it‘s what people would want..” Dream notes, “and what they’d expect..” he adds quietly, and Phil’s heart sinks hearing Dream say it.

 _He’s convinced he has to be perfect.. but why?_ Phil thinks. “Dream,” Phil calls, and Dream’s head perks up like he had just been zoning out. “you’re not gonna be perfect when you start, and that’s fine, but with practice I imagine you’ll do great! But have fun first and foremost, okay?” He states, and when he sees a soft smile make it’s way onto Dream’s face, he considers it a win.

* * *

It doesn’t get much better for a while, and he struggles alot.

 _C’mon, I can do this!_ He thinks desperately as he tries to play the song properly. _I can do this.._ He repeats to himself, he doesn’t get why this is so hard. Frustrated tears prick at his eyes, but he stops what he’s doing and puts down the guitar, Patches rubs against him, once again making him question if she can tell he needs it. 

_(“Have fun first and foremost, okay?”)_

He sighs, taking a moment to breathe. He undoes the band for the mask and sets it down in front of him, wiping his eyes. _Just have fun. That’s all that matters. Philza’s right, this is supposed to be fun, so I should just.. have fun._ He tells himself. 

He takes another deep breath, and picks the guitar back up. He doesn’t focus on playing the song perfectly, just on playing it, allowing himself to relax. _“The cute bomber jacket you’ve had since six form, adorned with patches of places you’ve been..”_ He starts, singing softly, adjusting quickly to the song. _“..Is nothing on my khaki coat that I got from a roadside, when I was sixteen-”_

Unbeknownst to Dream, Phil had walked by, surprised to find that Dream was playing one of Wilbur’s songs, and that he had slipped the mask off. He didn’t say anything though, since he didn’t want to startle Dream, he had his own comfort levels that Phil didn’t wanna mess with. _I want him to open up to me at his own pace._ Phil thinks.

 _“-My boots are from airports, my backpack’s from friends.”_ Dream continues singing, easing into the melody of the song. _“I’m not a man of substance, and so I’ll pretend to be a wanderer, wandering.. Leaving ascetic belongings in hostels or restaurant bins..”_ The singer’s experiences detailed in the song depict them struggling with a sense of belonging..

..Which is something Dream finds himself relating to on an almost uncomfortable level.

 _“The roads are my home, as horizon’s my target. If I keep on moving, never lose sight of it..”_ He remembers it clearly, not ever having any real home on the SMP- the closest being living with his friends in the community house during the war. 

And after the war ended, Dream was the only one left in the community house after everyone moved out.

 _“Treating my memory of you like a fire, let it burn out, don’t fight it, try to move on..”_ A bittersweet feeling washing over him as he says the words, a sense of longing for something- but he’s not sure what.. although, he finds himself feeling more at home with Phil with each passing day.. It’s quite nice.

 _“It’s been sixty weeks since I saw Vienna. A bandage and a wide smile slapped across my face.”_ He sings, and he thinks about how things were better when they were younger. The SMP was thriving, Tommy and Tubbo were happy, there were no wars.. _“I’ll pick up my hiking boots when I am ready, and I’ll put down my roots when I’m dead.”_

He smiles though, despite it. _One day, things will get better- it’s already starting to improve from how life used to be before._ He thinks, looking towards Patches with a smile. _Miya._ She chirps back as if a response to the silent statement of his, curling up by his side and purring. 

_“The distance is futile.. Come on don’t be hasty, you’ll get that feeling deep inside your bones.”_ He thinks about the future, there was a lot left unknown, and he couldn’t begin to guess what’ll happen later down the line, but... _I’m happy here, with Philza._ He thinks warmly. _“I’ll be gone then.. when you must be alone.”_

He finishes the song, grinning from ear to ear at the fact that he managed to get it, putting his mask on quickly in order to tell Phil how it went.


	5. Chapter 5

“Phil! Phil!” Phil could hear Dream’s voice approaching, smiling as he hears the sound of Dream’s boots from down the hall. “I managed to play the song correctly! Just like you said, I just needed to relax and focus on having fun!” Dream explains with a grin, bouncing on his heels. “That’s great! I’m glad you were able to get it and enjoy yourself.” Phil responds, a sense of pride filling him. 

“Oh, hey, since you’re here, I’m running low on sand, was thinking of going to the desert to get more materials, you wanna come?” Phil asks. “Ooh, yeah, sure! Sounds fun.” Dream responds with a grin. “I’m gonna go enchant shovels for maximum efficiency, you coming?” Phil asks, and Dream nods. “Let’s hope Patches doesn’t trash the house while we’re out.” Dream snorts. 

They made their way to Phil’s enchanting area, chatting as Phil walked up to the enchantment table. “I know you said you figured out the song you were trying, but how exactly is it going?” Phil asks, starting to flip through pages. “Well, most of the songs are.. kinda sad? But the song I tried to learn first just kinda.. stood out to me the most? I guess you could say.” Dream explains. 

“I see, is there any reason why?” Phil inquires. “The lyrics talk alot about traveling alot and not settling down anywhere and it..” Dream pauses. “..it reminded me of myself a little.” He admits in a soft voice. “There’s nothing wrong with not knowing what you want to do with yourself at your age- and I’m certainly willing to help you.” Phil responds with a smile.

Dream smiles back, turning to look at the page of the enchant book Phil was currently looking at. “Hmm.. Phil, You should try a different page, those enchants aren’t very good.” Dream comments. “Huh?” Phil asks, looking up from the book and over to Dream, who immediately backpedals. “Nothing! Nothing. I didn’t- I didn’t say anything.” Dream huffs, sticking his hands in his pockets and turning away.

 _So he can read the enchantment table books.._ Phil thinks. _They’re written in the language of the end realm, so that makes things very interesting.._ He muses to himself, cause while endermen were the most notable and largest society in the end realm, they’ve never been the only people to live there. They’ve shared the space with other hybrids, although most have since moved elsewhere.

Phil looks at the next page. “Well, what about these?” He asks, and Dream looks to him skeptically. “I mean.. if you think they’re better?” Dream responds, and Phil realizes quickly Dream isn’t going to say anything else on the matter. Luckily, Phil can figure it out on his own, easily applying good enchants to the shovels.

“Alright, you ready to head out to the deserts then?” Phil asks. “Am I gonna be piggybacking again?” Dream asks back, to which Phil nods. “Yeah, it’s a good distance away.” Phil responds, and Dream hums. “Alright, I guess I’m ready.” Dream states, and Phil allows Dream to hop on his back as he flies them to the desert.

The two of them got to work on mining sand, and for the start of it, the two were actually super productive in covering a lot of ground. But then, Dream got bored, and left Phil to his devices instead. “You look like you’re having fun over there.” Phil notes with a chuckle, pausing his digging to watch Dream bounce around, placing blocks under him to keep momentum before looking away to continue digging.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of- _Oh shit.”_ Dream starts, and Phil looks back to find a ravine having formed behind him, with Dream at the bottom. “How. How did you manage that.” Phil asks plainly. “In my defense, how was I supposed to know not all of the sand was on solid ground?” Dream answers back with a sheepish smile.

“You are a man of mystery, Dream.” Phil notes fondly while rolling his eyes, but when he looks up, he sees a mask staring back at him. “How-” Phil starts, wondering how Dream got out of the ravine so quickly, but he blinks and he realizes quickly that the mask is definitely not Dream’s.

In addition to his similar, but different mask, the stranger wore a large purple cloak decorated with stars and light blue accents. The man seemed to be very amused at Phil’s confusion, grinning at him in silence and waving. 

“Phil, what are you looking at?” Dream asked from behind him, and Phil turned to face him. “Do you not see the-” but when Phil looked back, the man was gone. _Oh what the fuck._ “I.. nevermind.” _Definitely gonna have to look into that later._ Phil thinks. “..Anyway, we should have enough sand, you ready to head back?” He asks. “Yeah, I’m ready.” Dream responds with a smile.

* * *

Dream collapses onto the couch once they’re inside. “Well, that was exhilarating.” He states. “You’re telling me, I turned away for a second and when I looked back you were down a hole.” Phil retorts. “Yeah, well, good thing I’m good at catching myself with water..” Dream trails off, cooing when Patches hops up beside him.

“I’m gonna make food, you want anything specific?” Phil asks, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and Dream shakes his head, running his hand across Patches’ fur. “Nah, feel free to make whatever you want, all your cooking is great.” Dream chuckles. 

“Gods, I just remember, my friends George and Sapnap- George would try to teach Sapnap how to cook without his fire powers- it never ended well.” Dream reminisces, an amused smile on his face. “Your friends sound nice.” Phil notes. “They are, they mean everything to me- I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” Dream explains. “Well, I’ll be in the kitchen, call if you need anything!” Phil says with a smile, disappearing into the room. 

Once Phil is out of the room, Dream goes digging through his hoodie pockets, pulling up a few small notes, all left for him by Hbomb- who’s always been there for him, and was especially a shoulder for him to lean on during the elections, and Dream thumbs over one of the more recent notes he had gotten.

 _‘Hey.  
_ _I know things are bad right now, but I believe in you that you’ll be able to  
f_ _igure this out so it all works out okay. I’ll always be in your corner if you ever need me._  
 _-H’_

Dream holds the small note in his hands, rereading it and the others to himself. All he can do is hope the people he cares about back on the SMP are doing well without him. And, perhaps, back on the SMP, a certain lumberjack was looking after his best friends, and a certain fox man.

“Food’s done- Dream, are you alright?” Phil asks, and Dream quickly stuffs the notes back into his hoodie. “I don’t know.” Dream admits, brushing his hand over the small but brilliant ring he wore. “..but I think I will be.” He answers, a sense of hope in his tone, and Phil smiles. “Oh, and Phil? I was wondering if we were open to visitors..” Dream explains. 

_“There’s someone I’d like you to meet, and I think you’ll like her.”_


	6. Chapter 6

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet, and I think you’ll like her.” Dream says. “Who?” Phil asks, and Dream smiles. “My little sister.” He explains. “I’ve been keeping in contact with her since I got here, but she kept asking where I was and she wants to visit, so I caved and explained it to her-” Dream adds, fidgeting with his hands.

Dream looks up at Phil, a shy smile forming from under his mask. “It’s okay if she comes right?” Dream asks. “Sure.” Phil answers. “It wouldn’t be today, probably several weeks from now depending on what her schedule is like and- wait you said yes?” Dream asks in shock. “Yeah, it’s perfectly fine, plus, I’m interested in meeting your sister.” Phil chuckles. 

“Oh- okay! Yeah, I can definitely ask her when she’s available.” Dream answers with a nervous smile, scratching the back of his head. “Did you not think I’d say yes?” Phil asks. “..Kinda? Like I didn’t think you’d say no, but I didn’t really think you’d say yes either. I don’t know what I expected.” Dream admits. “I’m going to get in contact with her- _our_ parents, and then I’ll let you know.” He adds.

* * *

So, they proceeded to figure out a date and time, and then it was all a matter of waiting for said time to arrive. Dream and Phil sat in silence in Phil’s house, Dream playing with Patches while he waited, when there was a knock at the door. Dream shot up from where he was seated, quickly hurrying to open the door. 

Phil peeked into the room with the front entrance to find Dream having been tackled to the ground, and a younger girl that looked relatively similar to Dream with a matching styled mask resting on the side of her face was sat over him with a proud smile on her face.

Before Phil could do anything, the girl adjusts Dream’s mask so that she could actually see his face. “There’s my dorky big brother.” She states with a grin that Dream returns along with a playful eye roll, making no move to fix his mask. “Nice to see you, _Drista.”_ Dream says in between laughs, and the girl- Drista, huffs. “Yeah, nice to see you too, _Clay.”_ She rebuffs, crossing her arms as she backed off, standing up.

Phil was watching the pair, multiple thoughts going through his head, but he chose to say silent. When Dream realized Phil was watching them both, embarrassment quickly crossed his face and he stood up, dusting himself off. “Well, Phil, this is uh, this is my sister, Drista.” Dream explains. “That’s not my name.” Drista hisses. “You answer to it, don’t you?” Dream shoots back. “Touche.”

“‘Clay’?” Phil asks, trying to hide how very curious he was. “It’s uh- my real name. I don’t really go by it anymore. The only person who actively calls me that is Drista.” Dream answers. “Liam calls you that too, doesn’t he?” Drista notes. “Yeah, but not nearly as much as you do, and unlike you, he doesn’t do it to tease me.” Dream responds, rolling his eyes.

“Who’s Liam?” Phil asks curiously, and before Dream can say anything, Drista goes to answer. “Liam, or Hbomb as he goes by normally, he was our next-door neighbor growing up, he was like an older brother to both of us, but especially Dream.” Drista explains. “..Yeah. I was closer with him than I was most people- including our parents.” Dream adds sheepishly.

“He also-” Dream starts, giving a small sigh as if he were steeling himself, then going to reach into his pockets for the small notes Phil saw him with before. “He’d always leave me these notes when I’d stay overnight.” He explains, folding through the notes carefully. “I miss him.” Dream admits. “I hope he’s not too worried about me..” He whispers softly. 

“I could tell him you’re alright?” Drista suggests. “Don’t.” Dream responds quickly. “I don’t want you to get hurt if you go to the SMP.” He explains. “But-” Drista starts. _“Please.”_ Dream says, and Drista stops. “Dream?” Phil asks worriedly, but Dream’s eyes are distant. “Let’s- let’s give Drista a tour.” Dream responds, already starting to go out the door. 

The tour was mostly uneventful, although Drista was very impressed by the Nether Void and Endlantis. Dream had stayed quiet for most of the tour, but couldn’t hold back his excitement at getting to be in Endlantis again- which, Phil would admit, considering whatever he is is something that came from the End, that doesn’t seem so surprising anymore.

The three of them were spread across the living room, Dream and Drista watching Patches bat her toys around. “Man, I wish we had a cat back home.” Drista says wistfully. “Maybe I should just take Patches back with me.” She teases. “Oh, you better not!” Dream shouts, tackling his sister while both of them laughed, and Phil watched them with a fond smile, the two feeling like they were his own kids.

“How have you been, Drista?” Dream asks, once the two get back up and calm down. “I’ve been well, although I’ll be honest, think the most fun I had in a while before this visit was hanging out with Tommy on the SMP.” Drista responds, and Phil raises an eyebrow. “You’ve met him? He’s one of my sons.” He states, and excitement filled Drista’s eyes. “Oh yes, I have! Please tell me you have funny stories about him.” 

“Oh, I have plenty of funny stories involving Tommy, but there is one specifically that comes to mind.” Phil starts. “Go on, I wanna hear.” Dream says, and getting to actually see the excitement and curiosity in Dream’s eyes is a welcome change, Phil thinks. “Come on, don’t leave us waiting!” Drista insists, just as excited as her brother.

“Let me try and remember what happened leading up to it.. I know me, Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur, and I think Techno were there. Tommy had done something stupid to get himself stuck and kept begging us to let him out- he wasn’t in any danger mind you, but none of us had really made any move to free him.” Phil starts.

“I’ll be honest, I barely remember what we were talking about, but..” Phil explains. “But?” Dream and Drista both ask. “At some point, Tubbo had asked what ‘marriage fraud’ was.” Phil explains. _“What?”_ Dream questions, already having a fit of giggles. “Yeah, Tubbo asked what it was, and I remember what Tommy answered with word for word.” Phil responds.

“Tommy said- and I’m quoting,” Phil says, preparing to do a Tommy impression. “‘Marriage fraud is when two men get- two women- anyone gets married, and then they fall apart, and then the other one- the other one probably has a knife or some shit,” Phil starts, trying to hold back his own laughter, while Dream and Drista both laughed.

“And he said, ‘and then what they do is they rob a bank together as _frauds.’”_ Phil continues. “And of course, we tried to correct him, saying no, that’s not what it was, but all we got in response was ‘LET ME OUT NOW, OR I’LL GET MARRIED IN RAGE!’” He explains, shouting to match Tommy’s energy, at which point Dream genuinely starts _wheezing,_ sounding more like a tea kettle than a person.

Phil pauses to take a look at Dream, who is struggling to catch his breath from how hard he’s laughing. “Dream?” Phil asks, slightly worried, and Drista pats her brother’s back. “He’s fine.” She responds, a big grin on her face. “He doesn’t laugh this hard often, but when he does, it’s a sight to behold.” Drista explains. “He said- he said, _or I’ll get married in-”_ Dream repeats, wheezing even harder, unable to finish the sentence because of his laughter. 

Phil proceeded to tell them a few other silly stories once Dream had calmed down, but after a quick glance at the clock, they quickly realized it was time for Drista to go home. “I’ll walk you back, okay?” Dream offers. “Yeah, yeah..” Drista huffs, but doesn’t argue. Dream looks over to Phil. “Want to come with?” He asks. “Nah, I’ll stay here and wait for you.” He responds. “Got it.” Dream says, and he and Drista head out.

The walk back to the world portal is quiet and uneventful, but before Drista leaves, she looks to him. “You’re sure you don’t want me to send a message to Liam?” She asks, and Dream frowns. “Yeah, yeah I’m sure..” Dream answers aimlessly, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Stay safe, okay?” He pleads, hoping with every part of him that Drista doesn’t go back without him knowing. 

Drista steps up to the portal, turning to look back at him. “You too.” She says with a grin that Dream returns. He gives her a farewell wave, and then she’s gone into the portal. He stares at the world portal longingly, the gentle blue glow felt welcoming. He sighed, turning and walking back to Phil’s house. 

He wasn’t ready to go back yet.

Dream gently opens the door, greeting Patches as he walks in and petting her head. “Welcome back.” Phil says with a smile. “Yeah..” Dream answers absently. “Hey, Dream?” Phil asks. “Yeah?” Dream asks back. “I noticed, your sister moved your mask out of the way of your face, but you never bothered to fix it- even now it’s still not covering your face.” Phil comments. “Oh, well, I guess it doesn’t bother me that much anymore..” Dream admits. “I’m glad to hear that, it’s nice to know you feel comfortable here.” Phil states.

“Also, Dream, I have another question.” Phil starts. “What is it?” Dream questions. “Will you ever tell me about what happened on your SMP?” Phil asks, and Dream curls in on himself. “I want to. I really want to tell you..” His hands bunch into fists in his lap. “But I don’t know If I’m ready.” Dream answers. “I don’t know why I’m so scared.” He admits.

He didn’t realize he’d started shaking until he felt Phil’s hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay if you’re not ready. I could tell since you first arrived here that whatever happened wasn’t good, so don’t push yourself, okay? But I promise Dream, you _are_ safe here.” Phil says gently.

Dream didn’t say anything at first, nor did he make any noticeable movement in response. But before Phil could ask, Dream practically threw himself into Phil’s arms. _“Thank you.”_ Dream whispered in a soft shaky voice, and all Phil could think to do was gently run his hands through Dream’s hair to comfort him.

In a way, the situation they’d found themselves in felt familiar to Phil. It reminded him of comforting his sons when they were younger, but it also reminded him of a time from long ago, of a boy who had desperately needed his help back then, too.

And this time, he was gonna make sure he stayed by his side.


	7. Chapter 7

It’d been about a week or so since Drista’s visit, Phil had gone to the living room to check on Dream, and found him thumbing through the notes from Hbomb again. “He means alot to you, huh?” Phil says with a small smile. “Oh Gods, yeah. He was always there for me..” Dream responds. “He- and a few other people, they’ve given me a bunch of stuff, over the years..” 

Dream gestures to a small, but still decently sized bag (presumably where he stores the rest of the notes, since he can’t reasonably fit them all in his pockets) beside him. “I keep everything in this bag. But this,” He taps his mask, still off to the side and leaving his eyes visible. “and this,” he gestures to his classic green hoodie. “were also gifts from H.” He explains. “The mask and hoodie were from Hbomb as well?” Phil asks.

“Yep! The hoodie was first, when I was small, I had to grow into it.” Dream responds. “I was still growing into it when he gave me the mask- he saw me always trying to hide in the hoodie and gave me the mask as an alternative.” He explains. “He knew I hated people seeing me vulnerable and crying, he didn’t necessarily want me to hide.” He adds quickly.

“..He made me promise not to hide from him but I think I ended up hiding a lot before I ran away.” Dream admits, sadness in his eyes. “Dream..” Phil says softly, and realization hits Dream, so he quickly backpedals. “Right, I uh.. I also made a couple things for him! Like a necklace, and a bracelet.” He explains with a small smile.

“I also have..” Dream starts, reaching into his bag and pulling out a few things, such as a bracelet infused with blaze rods and lapis (as well as having a star-shaped quartz charm on it), a blaze rod styled earring, and a little bottle necklace that had a mushroom in it. “These.” He says with a grin. 

“The bracelet is from a matching set, me, Sapnap, and George- we all have one, and then our friend- who’s basically our collective little brother, Purpled, he made the star charms for us.” Dream explains. “I trust the blaze rods are because of Sapnap? I recall you mentioning he has fire powers.” Phil suggests. “Yeah! Sapnap’s a pyrokinetic- so not quite a blaze hybrid, but similar!” Dream responds. 

“George made the necklace, he made one for me and Sapnap! He’s not- well, he’s human, but he wanted to make something for us.” Dream explains, looking over the bottle. “And the lapis? Where’s that come from?” Phil asks. “..The lapis is from me, actually!” Dream answers with a grin. “I guess you could say I’m used to making stuff with lapis. It’s always been kinda.. natural, to me.” He explains, scratching the back of his head.

“I made a necklace for H when I was a little kid out of lapis, and while he wouldn’t let me make a better necklace for him, I also made him a bracelet that has lapis embedded in it!” Dream explains excitedly, to which Phil smiles, but looking at his hands reminds him of something. “Oh yeah, Dream, I was wondering, what’s the story behind the ring?” Phil asks.

A soft and warm kind of excitement fills Dream’s face, and he quickly shows the ring off to Phil. “It’s my engagement ring!” He says quickly with a large grin. “My fiance, Fundy, he made it for me.” He explains. “It was so sweet of him- oh and speaking of lapis! I wanted to make a ring for him too, even if he had been the one who proposed, so I made him a ring made from lapis..” Dream says rambling on, not that Phil minds, Dream looks so happy talking about this stuff, it was clear the people in his life meant a lot to him.

Dream looks through his stuff again, and attached to one of the notes from Hbomb is a polaroid photo- and Dream grins the second he sees it. “I have this.” Dream explains, showing it to Phil, in the photo is Dream, beside him is a shorter human-fox hybrid with bright colored hair with his arm around Dream’s shoulder endearingly, both grinning. “That him, then?” Phil asks with a smile, to which Dream nods enthusiastically. “Yep!” He answers. 

Dream smiles, looking down at his ring fondly. “It’s a nice feeling, to be in love.” Phil notes. “Do you-” Dream starts, and Phil raises a hand and points at the wedding ring on it. “I have a wife, yes.” Phil says, chuckling at Dream’s shocked face. “How come I’ve never met her?” Dream asks, and Phil laughs. “Let’s just say she’s a very busy woman.” He explains. 

Dream takes a moment to think before he responds. “Well, I’d like to meet her, eventually.” Phil smiles, looking away. “You will, maybe not for a while..”  _ Hopefully not for a while.  _ He thinks. “But you will, eventually.”  _ This is an awkward topic to linger on, let’s try and change it..  _ “Do you have anything else in that bag of yours?” He asks curiously. “Oh, I might, let’s see..” Dream responds, reaching into the bag.

Phil’s heart nearly stops when he sees what Dream pulls out next.

Dream gasps softly realizing what he grabbed. “This is..” He’s about to put it back in the bag when Phil speaks. “I-It’s okay.” Phil stammers, internally cursing his shaking voice. “I’m curious, what is it?” He asks, and a nervous expression fills Dream’s  familiar face as he pulls back out a carefully made emerald necklace. “It was, uh.. I haven’t seen him, the guy who gave me this, in a long time.” Dream explains. “He looked after me when I was a child.” He adds.

_ A young boy with dirty blonde-brown hair and slitted green eyes sat on a swing, his rich clothes standing out like a sore thumb. His parents had treated him awfully, alongside giving him expectations he could never hope to reach, and he couldn’t bear to deal with it anymore, so he ran away.  _

_ The boy looked up in surprise to see an older man in dark clothes and grey wings. The man’s blonde hair was tied back in a long ponytail and his blue eyes looked down at him in concern. The boy explained his situation, and the man sympathized, taking the boy home with him. He hadn’t exactly been one to follow the law, and he wasn’t just about to make the boy go back to an abusive home, so he took him in. _

_ The two had become very close, and the man had given the boy an emerald necklace- that was the preferred material of winged hybrids, and having something made from it signified that bond. The boy treasured that necklace, always making sure it was kept safe. _

_ But then, one day, with no warning or reason, the man had gone and left the boy with a human family and never returned. Confused and feeling betrayed, the boy had shut himself off from the adults around him as he grew up, only sticking close to the older boy who lived next-door and his adopted baby sister until he had made his own friends. _

“..I wish I knew why he left me.” Dream says sadly when he finishes the story, gently fidgeting with the necklace in his hands. “Because you were safer with them.” Phil states. “Huh?” Dream says, looking up to see Phil looking at him with tears in his eyes. “I was trying to leave a dangerous life behind, and if you had stayed with me, you would’ve gotten hurt, so I left you with a human family that would take care of you and keep you safe.”

Dream’s eyes went wide, and he stared at Phil in shock. “Phil.” Dream calls out shakily. “Clay.” Phil says gently, holding out his arms, and Dream doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into them. “I thought I’d never see you again.” He sobs. “I know..” Phil responds shakily, briefly pulling away to look at Dream, hands gently placed on the younger’s shoulders. “You’re all grown up now.. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there to see it.” He tells him. 

He takes the necklace he gave Dream, and gently places it around his neck. “It suits you well.” Phil says. “I don’t even know what to say, Phil, I-” Dream stammers. “It’s okay.” Phil reassures. “It’s alot to take in- for both of us.” He adds. “I’ve been suspicious on what- and also who, you were, since the enchantment table thing.” Phil states. 

Dream scratches the back of his head. “I knew as soon as I told you about the enchants that I wouldn’t be able to convince you I was normal.” He responds with a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t sure what End species you were until you mentioned the lapis- you’re a dreamon, right?” Phil asks. 

Dream hesitantly nods in response to the question. “I’ll be honest, I don’t really know much about being one- having grown up in a human family and masking myself as one of them- I had to teach myself how to use my powers- cause there was no one show me how.” He responds, gesturing vaguely as he tries to explain it. “..I know I have glamour that lets me blend in and some magic, but that’s about it as far as powers go.”

“..Everything else was from accidents or circumstance.” Dream adds. “Like the iron door trap during MCC?” Phil asks, to which Dream looks away with a displeased expression. “Yep. Not something I want to remember, either.” He responds, and guilt flashes in Phil’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I should’ve realized, I forgot how it affected you.” Phil says apologetically. 

Dream gives him a small smile and waves it off. “It’s okay, I could never stay mad at you.” Dream responds, yawning. “You’ve taught me a lot- for the better.” He adds gratefully, and when Dream yawns, Phil looks over at the clock. “It’s getting late, and despite not going anywhere we had a bit of an eventful day, huh?” He chuckles. 

Dream nods, but groans, too tired to get up, but too uncomfortable to be able to sleep where he currently is, when suddenly he feels himself get lifted in Phil’s arms. “Phil-” Dream starts, but Phil hushes him, humming a vaguely familiar lullaby as he gently sets Dream down in one of the beds upstairs. “Sleep well, okay?” Phil says softly, getting a tiredly mumbled ‘you too’ in response from the other. 

* * *

Phil sat at his table, holding a mug in his hands. “I never thought he’d return like this.” Phil says, looking to the dark clothed figure sitting beside him. “And I imagine you knew, didn’t you, Kristin?” He asks with a knowing smirk.  _ “Well, it’d be cheating if I told you who he was, wouldn’t it?”  _ the figure- Kristin, responds.

_ “You said it yourself, it’s late, you need sleep too, Phil.”  _ Kristin chides, to which Phil rolls his eyes, watching as Kristin got up.  _ “And I have work to do.”  _ She adds. “Always so busy.” Phil says fondly, getting up to go to his own room. “I’ll try and find an excuse to drop by soon, so you don’t have to interrupt work to come see me.” Phil calls as Kristin walks to the door.  _ “You know I’ll take any excuse to visit you, even if you’re the only one who can see me when I do it.”  _ She says softly, gently caressing her thumb over his hand as she held it. 

The two bid each other goodnight, saying their ‘I love you’s before they parted ways again. Phil went to bed feeling a sense of ease he didn’t know he lacked up to this point, chalking it up to the nostalgic feelings of knowing Dream was back in his life.

It felt nice.


End file.
